


Shifting Scenes

by Suzelle



Category: Doctor Who, Historical RPF
Genre: F/M, Federal Theatre Project, Gen, Living Newspapers, New York City, One-Third of a Nation, Theatre
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-30
Updated: 2012-09-30
Packaged: 2017-11-15 09:26:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/525770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Suzelle/pseuds/Suzelle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Adjusting to life in 1930s New York, Amy and Rory go to see a play put on by the Federal Theatre Project.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shifting Scenes

They spend the first days mourning together, grieving what they’ve lost in people and places. But they pull themselves back together again, because there’s not much more they can do but try to move on.

They decide to stay in New York for now rather than trying to make it back to England, because Rory remembers enough of his history classes to know what’s looming on the horizon for Europe. He worries about finding a job, because he also remembers enough from history classes to know this is still Depression-era America, but turns out hospitals around here are always in need of an extra pair of hands.

They find a flat within the first couple of days—it’s small and cramped, but well-kept. Amy finds lots of time to play housekeeper, for though she applies for job after job no one seems to be looking to hire. It’s not long at all before she finds herself bored out of her mind.

“What do people _do_ for entertainment around here?” she asks Rory one night, “No computers, no telly, this radio spews nothing but crap—“

“You’re probably not on the right channels,” Rory replies, “I’ve heard they have great murder mystery radio shows this day and age…”

“It’s not the same,” she whines and flops down on the couch, “What good’s a crime drama without the gory visuals.”  

She accepts that boredom will be their lot in life for a good while at least, but she keeps looking to see what interesting things they can do—this is New York City, after all—and one day she spies a flyer for a play while she’s wandering downtown.

[_Federal Theatre Presents: One-Third of a Nation—A Living Newspaper About Housing_.](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTIPoe1Cuv0Qu01kXZWb3AfFTKyRIHj-LAZ3G9SEbSTMpyMca2O)

“Living…Newspaper, eh?” Rory studies the flyer when Amy hands it to him that night. “Might be something good to go to. Be good for us to catch up with what kind of news stories people around here think are important. Federal Theatre…I wonder what that is?”

“I think it’s some sort of government relief project,” Amy says, “Making sure unemployed actors can find work, stuff like that.”

“You should try and find a job with them,” Rory grins mischeviously.

“Don’t think I haven’t already tried,” Amy says, throwing a towel at him, “but you need more paperwork proving you’re on relief than even that scrap of psychic paper can come up with. We’ll just have to go watch the show.”  

They’ve seen a fair number of plays on their travels with the Doctor, but nothing ever quite like this—the play opens on an apartment burning down, and Amy suspects that this isn't going to be particularly light fare. The cast is made up of nearly 100 actors and the plot is punctuated by a disembodied “Voice of the Living Newspaper” that leads the main character through the history of housing in New York.

“Hey, you think the Voice is like the Doctor,” Amy whispers in a giggle as Angus Buttonkooper wanders confusedly through the 1820s, “Taking him through all of time and space in the island of Manhattan…”

“Yeah, well I hope we were never as blissfully stupid as this Buttonkooper bloke is,” Rory whispers back, “Absolutely clueless!”

Amy can hardly stop herself from giggling at the gimmick, and would be poking at Rory all through the play if the subject matter didn’t turn so deadly serious. The Voice of the Living Newspaper traces the history of housing laws, and desperation faced by the inhabitants of New York City tenements is brought to life by the actors. The first act ends with a cholera epidemic that swept the tenements, and the lights fade on a young mother weeping over her dead child. Amy feels her own eyes burn as the curtain falls and the lights come up.

Rory gets up during the intermission to see if they’re selling any snacks, but Amy stays in the seat, sniffs heavily as she lets the tears spill out from her eyes. It’s just too much, thinking of the dead little girl, and River, and the Doctor gone…

She wipes her eyes and looks around, embarrassed, to see if anyone’s noticed. But the only person left in the seats nearby is a woman with curly red hair and a large black hat. She’s sitting in the seat next to Rory’s and she herself is dabbing surreptitiously at her eyes with a handkerchief.

The woman catches Amy’s eye, and they both laugh, embarrassed and relieved all at once.

“Are you all right?” Amy finally asks.

“Oh!...oh, yes, I’m all right,” the woman says with a small shake of her head. “It’s funny, you know, I’ve seen this play three times now, read the script a dozen times before that, and that scene with the mother still…well, no matter.” She turns to Amy, a smile on her face. “That’s what good theatre is. Are you enjoying the play?”

“Very much,” Amy replies, “My husband and I just…moved here, I guess you can say, and we didn’t about know any of this. Makes me glad for out tiny little flat—at least it’s clean, and fireproof. At least, I think it is.”

“Well, welcome to New York—and America, I presume?” the woman asks. Amy nods. “Did you go to the theatre often before you came here?”

“Not at home much, no,” Amy replies, “But we’ve been…all over, really, and we’ve seen a bunch of stuff around. Couple of Shakespeares— _the_ Shakespeare, once, and Rory got roped into a role in a York cycle drama, and then there was that _horrible_ Silurian play…”

“Sounds like you two have travelled quite a bit,” the woman laughs.

“Well, it’s all behind us now. We can’t...money’s tight, you know,” she says, fumbling for an excuse, “We’ve got to stay settled here now.”

“Well, New York’s as good a place as any to be grounded. But I can imagine you must miss the adventure.”

Amy snorts.

“That might be the understatement of the year, Mrs…”

“Flanagan,” she says, holding out her hand, “Hallie Flanagan.”

“Amelia Pond,” Amy says, and the two shake hands. She’s been using her full name more and more as of late. It feels…right for this time period, somehow.

Flanagan settles back into her seat, a reminiscent look on her face.

“You know, I received a fellowship that allowed me to travel all over Europe to see plays, this was…oh, over ten years ago now” she says wistfully, “I saw puppet shows in Prague, workers’ theatres in Russia…most exciting time of my life. Even now, with everything else I’ve got, knowing how much everything’s changed, I find myself wishing constantly that I could go back.”

“Yeah,” Amy says, “Yeah, I know that feeling.” She stares at her hands morosely.

“So then, what do you do?” she asks finally, “when you get caught up in thinking about those times?”

Flanagan regards her, contemplative.

“You think about the here and now," she responds, "Something’s always happening, there’s always…there are always things wrong with this world. It’s the housing crisis here, it’s a drought in Arkansas, but…you do what you can to help fix it. Get people talking, move them to action, make something new. I suppose that’s why the theatre’s always been as exciting to me as any travelling I’ve ever done, in the end. Every day…you make something new,” she says. “Every night. Even with this, however many times I’ve seen it, it’s something new.”

Amy nods slowly. She’s never thought of the theatre much in that way before, but it’s clear from the passion in Flanagan’s voice that it’s what means the world to her. And, she reflects, there’s some truth in her words—the focusing on the here and now. A new city, a new life to map, Rory…

“So, can I ask _why_ come you’ve gone to see this play so many times?" she asks, changing the subject. "And you said you’d _read_ it before that, too?”

“Well, I’d be a fairly poor director if I didn’t take an active role in the plays I put on,” Flanagan laughs, “especially ones as important as these. Just wait until the second act—we’ve made some Congressmen _very_ angry.”

“You’re the _director?_ ” Amy asks, surprised, “All of this is thanks to you?”

“After a fashion, yes,” she says, “But the real work lies with the writers and actors, here. I’m just trying to make sure they get a chance.”

Rory comes back just as the second act starts, and they enjoy the second act just as much as the first, if not more (and Amy can understand now why the Congressmen are angry about the play). As the curtain falls and the audience slowly trickles out of the theatre, Amy turns around to wave goodbye to Hallie Flanagan She is amused to find that she towers nearly a foot above her.

“It was a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Flanagan,” she says.

“Call me Hallie,” she replies, “and come back to our theatre sometime, Amelia Pond. I promise not every play will make you cry.”

“Who was that?” Rory asks as she leads him out of the theatre. Amy laughs as she points to Hallie’s name on their program. As his eyes widen, she realizes that even with the Doctor gone, they’ll always be meeting extraordinary people and seeing extraordinary things. And the thought gives her comfort.

**Author's Note:**

> I never know how much info-dumping people will want for a historical RPF, but let me say: The Federal Theatre Project was a nationwide theatre sponsored by President Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration between 1935-1939. It remains the only instance in the United States’ history of a federally funded and operated theatre. It's one of the single most exciting and important moments in the history of theatre in the United States, and would not have been possible without the leadership of director Hallie Flanagan. One of the most important innovations of the FTP was the Living Newspaper--and One-Third was its most famous. And PDF of the original script is indeed available online! http://digilib.gmu.edu/dspace/handle/1920/4496
> 
> I love the idea that even without the TARDIS, Amy and Rory will still be meeting awesome people from history. Here's one of them.


End file.
